Eastern Michigan Athletics
Men’s Hoops Add Three More to 2020-21 Roster
8/3/2020 1:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EMU signs James Love III, Drew Lowder, and Axel Okongo
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy announced the additions of James Love III (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-American Heritage (Kansas State)), Drew Lowder (Jackson, Mich.-Ann Arbor Pioneer (Holy Cross)), and Axel Okongo (Saacy-sur-Marne, France-Thetford Prep Academy (Missouri)) to the 2020-21 roster today, August 3.
"We're very excited about completing this year's recruiting class," Murphy said. "The addition of dynamic player-maker Drew Lowder, and athletic defensive anchors James Love III and Axel Okongo will make an immediate impact in our basketball program."
James Love III ∙ Forward ∙ 6-11 ∙ 240 ∙ R-Sr. ∙ Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-American Heritage (Kansas State)
For the 2020-21 campaign, Love will be considered a redshirt senior on the court, but a graduate student in the classroom. Love arrives in Ypsilanti after spending the past three seasons at Kansas State University. The 6-foot-11 forward missed his freshman season after suffering a season-ending injury. He bounced back for the 2017-18 season as a redshirt freshman and saw action in 15 games for the Wildcats averaging 4.6 minutes per game off the bench. Love was a member of the 2018 Big 12 Championship Team and a NCAA Elite Eight program.
As a redshirt sophomore, Love appeared in 19 games for KSU and averaged 4.0 points per game in Big 12 play. Off the court, the forward was a two-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Love prepped at American Heritage High School for Coach Brent Maffett and was considered one of the top players in the state of Florida by a number of recruiting services, including No. 23 by 247Sports. Love led the Patriots to a Region 4 title in 2016 with a 16-7 overall record and was named honorable mention to the Miami Herald and Florida Sun-Sentinel All-Broward County 8A-5A teams. He averaged 10 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks per game as a senior and was voted American Heritage's Defensive Player of the Year.
Drew Lowder ∙ Guard ∙ 6-1 ∙ 170 ∙ So. ∙ Jackson, Mich.-Ann Arbor Pioneer (Holy Cross)
Lowder will join the Eagles as a sophomore after spending the previous season at Holy Cross. The Jackson, Mich. native appeared in 12 games for the Crusaders and ranked second on the team averaging 14.1 points per game. He posted a 43.6 field-goal percentage (65-of-149) and a 42.0 percent clip from beyond the arc (29-of-69). The 6-foot-1 guard tallied a career-high 24 points to go along with five assists in his first collegiate game against Maryland.
The sophomore graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. in 2019 and played for Head Coach Rich Marion. He averaged 20 points, four assists, and three steals during his senior season, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point range. Lowder, a two-time captain, earned Associated Press All-State Second Team honors as a senior and led the Pioneers to a conference championship in 2019. He was named to the 2018 Ann Arbor News Dream Team and is a two-time first team Southeastern Conference Red Division selection. Ranked as one of the top three guards in the state and a preseason Michigan Mr. Basketball candidate by Inside Prep Sports, Lowder played on the national AAU circuit with The Family in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and 1 Nation in the Under Armour Association.
Axel Okongo ∙ Center ∙ 7-0 ∙ 240 ∙ Sr. ∙ Saacy-sur-Marne, France-Thetford Prep Academy (Missouri)
Okongo, a 7-foot center, will join the EMU squad as a senior after spending the 2019-20 season at the University of Missouri. He appeared in eight games for the Tigers, averaging 3.8 minutes per game off the bench. Okongo earned playing time in his first career game at Mizzou at No. 17 Kentucky and tallied two points against West Virginia and Texas A&M.
He is lauded for his defensive prowess by his coaches at both prep and junior college levels, posting five to six blocked shots in a game on multiple occasions. The center started his collegiate career at Northwest College (Wyo.) where he played in 22 games, making four starts for the Tappers in 2018-19. Okongo finished the season with a .519 field goal percentage and swatted away 25 shots in 231 minutes.
Okongo hails from Saacy-sur-Marne, France, where he lived throughout his childhood before moving to Canada to continue his basketball career at Thetford Prep Academy in Quebec. At Thetford, he played for the same coaches who mentored current Toronto Raptor, Chris Boucher.
Love III, Lowder, and Okongo join other signee in guard Bryce McBride for the 2020-21 season.
Eastern Michigan finished the 2019-20 season with a 16-16 overall record and notched the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic title. Murphy will begin his 10th year at the helm of the program.
"We're very excited about completing this year's recruiting class," Murphy said. "The addition of dynamic player-maker Drew Lowder, and athletic defensive anchors James Love III and Axel Okongo will make an immediate impact in our basketball program."
James Love III ∙ Forward ∙ 6-11 ∙ 240 ∙ R-Sr. ∙ Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-American Heritage (Kansas State)
For the 2020-21 campaign, Love will be considered a redshirt senior on the court, but a graduate student in the classroom. Love arrives in Ypsilanti after spending the past three seasons at Kansas State University. The 6-foot-11 forward missed his freshman season after suffering a season-ending injury. He bounced back for the 2017-18 season as a redshirt freshman and saw action in 15 games for the Wildcats averaging 4.6 minutes per game off the bench. Love was a member of the 2018 Big 12 Championship Team and a NCAA Elite Eight program.
As a redshirt sophomore, Love appeared in 19 games for KSU and averaged 4.0 points per game in Big 12 play. Off the court, the forward was a two-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Love prepped at American Heritage High School for Coach Brent Maffett and was considered one of the top players in the state of Florida by a number of recruiting services, including No. 23 by 247Sports. Love led the Patriots to a Region 4 title in 2016 with a 16-7 overall record and was named honorable mention to the Miami Herald and Florida Sun-Sentinel All-Broward County 8A-5A teams. He averaged 10 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks per game as a senior and was voted American Heritage's Defensive Player of the Year.
Drew Lowder ∙ Guard ∙ 6-1 ∙ 170 ∙ So. ∙ Jackson, Mich.-Ann Arbor Pioneer (Holy Cross)
Lowder will join the Eagles as a sophomore after spending the previous season at Holy Cross. The Jackson, Mich. native appeared in 12 games for the Crusaders and ranked second on the team averaging 14.1 points per game. He posted a 43.6 field-goal percentage (65-of-149) and a 42.0 percent clip from beyond the arc (29-of-69). The 6-foot-1 guard tallied a career-high 24 points to go along with five assists in his first collegiate game against Maryland.
The sophomore graduated from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. in 2019 and played for Head Coach Rich Marion. He averaged 20 points, four assists, and three steals during his senior season, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three-point range. Lowder, a two-time captain, earned Associated Press All-State Second Team honors as a senior and led the Pioneers to a conference championship in 2019. He was named to the 2018 Ann Arbor News Dream Team and is a two-time first team Southeastern Conference Red Division selection. Ranked as one of the top three guards in the state and a preseason Michigan Mr. Basketball candidate by Inside Prep Sports, Lowder played on the national AAU circuit with The Family in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and 1 Nation in the Under Armour Association.
Axel Okongo ∙ Center ∙ 7-0 ∙ 240 ∙ Sr. ∙ Saacy-sur-Marne, France-Thetford Prep Academy (Missouri)
Okongo, a 7-foot center, will join the EMU squad as a senior after spending the 2019-20 season at the University of Missouri. He appeared in eight games for the Tigers, averaging 3.8 minutes per game off the bench. Okongo earned playing time in his first career game at Mizzou at No. 17 Kentucky and tallied two points against West Virginia and Texas A&M.
He is lauded for his defensive prowess by his coaches at both prep and junior college levels, posting five to six blocked shots in a game on multiple occasions. The center started his collegiate career at Northwest College (Wyo.) where he played in 22 games, making four starts for the Tappers in 2018-19. Okongo finished the season with a .519 field goal percentage and swatted away 25 shots in 231 minutes.
Okongo hails from Saacy-sur-Marne, France, where he lived throughout his childhood before moving to Canada to continue his basketball career at Thetford Prep Academy in Quebec. At Thetford, he played for the same coaches who mentored current Toronto Raptor, Chris Boucher.
Love III, Lowder, and Okongo join other signee in guard Bryce McBride for the 2020-21 season.
Eastern Michigan finished the 2019-20 season with a 16-16 overall record and notched the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic title. Murphy will begin his 10th year at the helm of the program.
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